Ode To Solitude
by Inu-Rinoa
Summary: The figure of a man sits alone, lost in his thoughts of the past ... but is he really as alone with his thoughts as he thinks? -Written by Dakk Tribal, who is unable to upload this himself-


Pale is the moonlight to those who gaze upon it; this night is no different from the many before it. Souls sleep the nocturnal night away, dreaming blissful dreams of their inner most pleasures, thinking not of the merciless world that surrounds them.

'I'm…'

Darkness envelops the light, yet in this place, this cave of crystal, there were many lights emitting from the minerals. This created a warm, comforting light and was a sight to behold. Of course, in a place as secret as this, very few knew of it.

'…Sorry…'

One could, if silent enough, hear the voice of someone in the cave. At least, that was what Vincent Valentine thought as he sat before the large crystal in the cave. Words he swore he could hear, yet his mind kept reminding him that it was an impossible action, a possible hallucination on his part.

And yet, a single thought hung in his mind, 'how can I be hallucinating if it was so clear?'

'I'm so sorry…'

There it was again, the same words he had been hearing for quite some time now. Hours on end, he would hear them, and he knew what meaning lay behind their message. 'How can I forget…"

Sitting with his head down, Vincent looked up slightly at the large crystal in front of him, "Lucrecia…"

The crystal formation before him, inside was a young woman, a woman Vincent knew, named Lucrecia Crescent. Like an angel in a state of slumber, neither alive nor dead, she had her hands over her chest like she was having the most peaceful of dreams. That was what he had hoped she was having now. Vincent would look at this woman, and not having the need to eat or sleep, stay on and look hours on end.

'Vincent…I'm sorry…'

"No…I'm the one…who ought to be apologizing, Lucrecia," the former Turk said, answering something only he could seemingly hear. The words he knew by heart, the way they were spoken were exactly the same as when she said them to him, many years ago…

"Water… I was in a tank; watching as she and that madman were arguing…something about 'give him back'…but I didn't know what really until afterwards.

Lucrecia had experimented on me…used me like a lab rat. Used me to test her hypothesis on the Chaos Theory. Used me…and yet, she did help me in the end. She had brought back to life.

And how did she do that…? I was made, into a monster… Is that what she was sorry for? No. It was before that, well before that.

Grimoire Valentine, a brilliant scientist and my own father, he was with her when he died. Killed protecting the young naïve scientist, she kept it a secret from me until I literally stumbled upon it one day. Ironically enough, I was assigned to be her bodyguard during that time.

Devastated as she was, and though I was shocked, I did not blame her for what happened. Yet, she refused to talk to me about it. Distancing herself would be her undoing however, when she sought the comfort of that madman.

"Hojo…he deceived you…and I did little to stop him." Vincent lowered his head. Hojo, another scientist, was a sadistic monster. Not worthy of being described as a human being, seeing life as a grand experiment to satisfy his lust for knowledge, the mere thought of Hojo made Vincent's blood boil with rage. But his anger only intensified when he remembered how powerless he was to stop Hojo from using Lucrecia.

"I confronted both of you, about what you planned to do, and I was beaten back, mostly by you." He lifted his head up again, looking at the woman before him, his deep red eyes lost in the thoughts of the past. "Yet, I kept trying, and I paid for it with my life."

"Was it because you refused to heed my warning? Lucrecia, was it because you didn't listen to me? Are you sorry for that?"

He waited for an answer, but he was met with only silence. "I see…that is why, isn't it?"

"But don't think I forgot all the time we spent together before that. When we first got to know each other, having small picnics on the grounds of the Shin-Ra Manor, the best part of it all, was when I saw you smile. You rarely ever smiled then, but when you did, it was like God himself sent an angel before me…" The man gave a small smile at the memories he was remembering. Happier times, less painful times. Almost, even heavenly compared to the pain he would suffer later.

But…

"How did you feel…about me?"

Concern and what not, that's all he felt when he first got to know the scientist back then. But as time went on, he felt some form of connection to her. However, before those connections could be explored, he had died, and his life went dark.

'I…'

Remembering the words she had told him before, he shook his head, "You don't have to apologize for what you did. I never did blame you for anything you did to me."

But the feelings she felt for him; saving his life gave him the greatest clue. Mutual feelings between the two were never explored, or even grazed upon due to their stations. Or so one would think. Something trivial as love can be expressed in more than words.

That was what he believed. Vincent Valentine, the man who died and became a monster, believed that Lucrecia Crescent saved his life because of her love for him.

Vincent gave another small smile before standing up, not taking his eyes off the woman in the crystal, "I will probably never know, but I always thought you cared about me." He slowly walked up to the crystal, putting his right hand over Lucrecia's, separated by inches of crystal, "Even if you tried to hide it, I never did."

The words he spoke, as true as they had ever been, made him feel lighter in the chest.

'I always…loved you…'

Upon hearing those words, Vincent's heart seemingly skipped a beat. The guilt and sorrow washed away in an instant. He put his forehead to the crystal and closed his eyes.

"Lucrecia…"


End file.
